The Short Answer
Erika Jayne is still legally married to Tom Girardi. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, now 55 (born July 10, 1971, in Atlanta), married the famed Los Angeles attorney in 1999 and filed for divorce in November 2020 — but the divorce has never been finalized, leaving her in the strange limbo of being married to a man she left six years ago. Erika Girardi, known professionally as Erika Jayne, is an American singer, television personality, author and actress who has appeared as a main cast member on Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills since 2015. The marriage's collapse coincided with the explosion of fraud allegations against Girardi: his firm Girardi Keese collapsed amid accusations he embezzled millions in client settlement funds, he was diagnosed with dementia, placed under conservatorship and ultimately convicted of federal wire fraud in 2024 and sentenced to prison in 2025. Through it all, the divorce stalled — and in 2025, Erika went public with a new man, John McPhee, while still technically Mrs. Girardi.
Marriage to Tom Girardi (1999-2020)
Erika met Tom Girardi in the 1990s when she was waitressing at a restaurant he frequented — he was a legendary plaintiffs' attorney, 30-plus years her senior, famous for billion-dollar verdicts (including the case behind Erin Brockovich). They married in 1999; she was 28, he was 60. For two decades, they were a Beverly Hills power couple: his legal empire funding her pop-star alter ego Erika Jayne — the dance singles ('Roller Coaster,' 'Painkillr'), the Pretty Mess memoir, the over-the-top RHOBH persona. The 32-year age gap was the least unusual thing about them. Behind the glamour, the marriage's final years were strained: Erika later said she filed after discovering infidelity. In November 2020, she filed for divorce — and within weeks, the fraud allegations detonated publicly. Girardi Keese collapsed, creditors circled, Tom's health failed and the couple's assets became litigation targets. The marriage that had funded a fantasy ended in a nightmare of lawsuits, with Erika herself sued (she settled a $25 million trustee lawsuit in 2026 without admitting wrongdoing).
The Divorce That Won't End
Erika filed for divorce in November 2020. Six years later, it is still not final — one of the strangest marital limbos in celebrity history. The reasons are tangled: Tom's dementia diagnosis and conservatorship meant divorce proceedings had to go through his conservator; his criminal prosecution took precedence; the bankruptcy trustee's claims complicated asset division; and both sides, at various points, had reasons to let it sit. In 2026, a judge warned the case could be dismissed for lack of prosecution — meaning the divorce might end without ever reaching a final judgment, leaving them married by default. Legal analysts call it unprecedented: a woman who left her husband six years ago, watched him convicted and imprisoned, started a new relationship — and remains his wife on paper. Erika has described the situation with dark humor on RHOBH, but the reality is grim: she cannot fully close the book on the worst chapter of her life because the legal system will not let her.
Who Is Erika Jayne?
Erika Girardi, known professionally as Erika Jayne, is an American singer, television personality, author and actress born July 10, 1971, in Atlanta, Georgia. Raised by a single mother, she moved to New York at 18 to pursue performing, then to Los Angeles, where she met Girardi. As Erika Jayne, she released dance-pop singles that topped the Billboard Dance Club chart — nine No. 1s, a genuine club-music career bankrolled by her husband's millions. She joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2015 (season 6) and became its most polarizing star: the 'Pretty Mess' persona, the $40,000-a-month glam squad, the ice-queen confessionals. The show documented her marriage's collapse in real time — the 2020-2021 seasons are essentially the Girardi scandal as reality TV. Now 55, she has rebuilt: a Las Vegas residency, continued RHOBH presence and a public image transformed from villain to survivor. Her story — waitress to pop persona to scandal survivor — is reality TV's great rise-fall-rise.
New Romance: John McPhee
In 2025, Erika went public with a new relationship — with John McPhee, as reported by outlets including TV Insider and The Tab. After five years of describing herself as single while her divorce dragged on, the 54-year-old (at the time) debuted her new man, marking a genuine new chapter. Details about McPhee remain limited — he is not a celebrity, and Erika has kept the relationship relatively low-key by her standards — but the significance is clear: the woman who spent years legally tethered to a convicted felon is building a new romantic life. On RHOBH, she has discussed dating again with a mix of excitement and wariness, joking about the strangeness of romance at 55 after two decades of marriage. Whether the relationship lasts, it represents something important: Erika Jayne, still technically married, refusing to let paperwork define her love life. The divorce may be stalled, but she is not.
Where Is Tom Girardi Now?
Tom Girardi, now 87, is serving a federal prison sentence after his 2024 conviction on wire fraud charges — the jury found he stole millions from clients, including widows, orphans and burn victims. Diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer's and dementia, he was placed under a conservatorship (his brother Robert serves as conservator). He began serving his 87-month sentence in 2025. The man who was once Los Angeles' most feared plaintiffs' lawyer — the Erin Brockovich money, the political connections, the private jets — is now an elderly inmate. His law firm is bankrupt, his assets liquidated, his reputation destroyed. For Erika, he is both the husband she left and the catastrophe she survived: the marriage's money funded her dreams and then nearly destroyed her. She has said she hopes he gets the care he needs, even as she builds a life entirely apart. The 32-year age gap that once seemed like a footnote became the story's cruelest irony — she is 55 and starting over; he is 87 and finishing behind bars.
Erika Today
At 55, Erika Jayne is in her reinvention era: RHOBH star, Vegas performer, newly (if complicatedly) in love — and still, technically, married. The $25 million trustee lawsuit settled in 2026 without admission of wrongdoing, removing the largest financial threat. Her divorce case limps toward either resolution or dismissal. Her relationship with John McPhee, public since 2025, is her first real romance since the marriage's end. Born July 10, 1971, in Atlanta, the waitress-turned-pop-persona-turned-scandal-survivor has lived reality TV's most dramatic arc and emerged, improbably, thriving. Is Erika Jayne married? Legally, yes — to Tom Girardi, since 1999, divorce pending since 2020. In every way that matters, no: she left six years ago, and she has moved on. The paperwork will catch up eventually. She already has.
The Pop Career
Before RHOBH, there was Erika Jayne the pop star — and it was real. Bankrolled by Tom Girardi's millions, she released dance singles that topped the Billboard Dance Club chart nine times: 'Roller Coaster' (2007), 'Stars,' 'Give You Everything,' 'Painkillr' (2014) and more. The 'Pretty Mess' persona — the high ponytail, the latex, the ice-queen choreography — was a genuine club-culture phenomenon, with a devoted gay following and sold-out shows. Her 2018 memoir Pretty Mess chronicled the double life: Erika Girardi, attorney's wife, and Erika Jayne, pop provocateur. The music was funded by fraud — the lawsuits later alleged Girardi Keese money paid for the glam — but the artistry was hers: she performed, she commanded, she delivered. Born July 10, 1971, in Atlanta, she moved to New York at 18 chasing stardom; it took a marriage, a persona and two decades. At 55, the pop career is on pause — the Vegas residency keeps the flame alive — but the nine No. 1s are permanent. Whatever the courts decide about the money, the music was hers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Erika Jayne married?
Legally yes — she is still married to Tom Girardi, though she filed for divorce in November 2020 and it remains unfinalized.
Who is Erika Jayne's husband?
Tom Girardi, a former Los Angeles attorney she married in 1999; he was convicted of wire fraud in 2024.
Is Erika Jayne divorced?
Not yet. The divorce filed in 2020 has stalled for six years amid Girardi's criminal cases and conservatorship.
Who is Erika Jayne dating now?
She went public in 2025 with a new relationship with John McPhee, per entertainment outlets.
How old is Erika Jayne?
Erika Jayne was born July 10, 1971, making her 55 years old.
Does Erika Jayne have kids?
No children have been publicly confirmed.
Is Erika Jayne still alive?
Yes. Erika Jayne is alive at 55 and stars on RHOBH.